


People Person

by BuckyAndDanno



Series: Evan Buckley-Severide Fics [8]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV), Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago PD (TV), Criminal Minds (US TV), Hawaii Five-0 (2010), NCIS: Los Angeles
Genre: Angst, Buck and the Multiverse, Case fic (sort of), Epic Multi Fandom Crossover, Evan Buckley-Severide, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Lawsuit (9-1-1 TV), Severide Bros
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:28:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27183130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BuckyAndDanno/pseuds/BuckyAndDanno
Summary: “Buck, how do you know all these people?”“I’m a people person?”Or, the ultimate fandom mash up ft, Evan Buckley-Severide.In a post-lawsuit AU where Buck went back to Chicago and re-joined CPD Intelligence, a cross state case takes him back to LA and reunites him with many familiar faces. The 118 lost him once and are determined not to make the same mistake again, but did they ever really know Evan Buckley at all?
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Danny "Danno" Williams, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Eddie Diaz, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Hank Voight, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Jay Halstead, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Kelly Severide, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Marty Deeks, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Spencer Reid, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Steve McGarrett, Jay Halstead & Will Halstead, Kensi Blye/Marty Deeks, Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams
Series: Evan Buckley-Severide Fics [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1929325
Comments: 21
Kudos: 296





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so, I honestly wasn’t gonna start another story but then SimplyKelC commented on Cover My Heart saying that they don’t think there is a crossover I can’t write, and that I slot Buck into any universe effortlessly, and this happened:
> 
> My Brain: I wonder how many fandoms you can cross Buck into at once?
> 
> Me: *Sigh* *Faceplant* *Starts typing*
> 
> This is not gonna be realistic at all but… whatever. It’s likely only going to be a few chapters but… we’ll see.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own any of the shows/fandoms/universes used! I'm just distracting myself from 2020.

“I thought I said I didn’t want to see either of you in my ER again?”

Detective Jay Halstead grimaces as he looks up to the approaching figure of his younger brother, Dr Will Halstead, hand still pressed to the sluggishly bleeding wound on his arm.

Will’s expression is a mix of despair, worry and amusement all rolled into one. Since moving to Chicago, he’s seen his brother in Chicago Med more times than he’s cared to admit. Hell, he’s seen several members of Intelligence in there more times than he cared to admit.

Jay meets the gaze of his partner, Detective Evan Severide, sat on the bed across from him, and rolls his eyes. “Told you.”

Evan laughs softly, even as the movement sends a pain spiking through the back of his head. “Brothers. I tell you, if Kelly were here he’d be the same.”

“Kelly is lucky he doesn’t get to see the aftermath of your exploits.” Will grumbles, shooting Evan a look as he stands between the pair. “Okay, who’s going first?”

He’s not surprised when the pair point at each other, and sighs.

“Okay then, bullet wound is sluggish; mainly surface. I’m gonna call a nurse to stitch that up for you.” Will says, slipping out of the curtain briefly to call April over. Then he’s eyeing Evan critically. “Head wound, caused by…?”

“Pistol whipped.” Evan grumbles in reply. “Snuck up on me.”

Will sits down beside the young Detective, gloves snapping on, and starts examining the wound. “Doesn’t look too bad. Any dizziness, nausea, blurred vision?”

“No.” Evan replies, wincing. “Head feels like it’s been cracked open, but other than that.”

Will’s brows furrow as he shines a penlight in Evan’s eyes, then tracks his movement and co-ordination. “Mild concussion. I’m gonna stitch this up for you, but I won’t make you stay overnight.”

“Really?” Evan’s eyes brighten.

Will almost laughs. “You hate hospitals as much as Jay does.”

There’s a moment where the other man’s eyes dull for a second, a downward twitch of his lips, and then he smiles. “Thanks Doc.”

“Just take it easy, okay? No gallivanting around for a while.”

Evan glances back at his partner, grin forming. “It’s like he doesn’t know us at all.”

They make it back to CPD roughly two hours later, patched up and armed with antibiotics and painkillers. Voight is quick to make sure they’re okay, because regardless of what those outside the Intelligence Unit think, he’s actually a papa-bear at heart and his team is his family. Especially after losing Justin, both Jay and Evan have become somewhat surrogate sons; annoying, fool-hardy, stubborn sons, but family none the less.

After several minutes of “we’re fine, promise, we’ll not rush headlong into things without back-up again,” they’re filled in on the past two hours of their current case, including another lead to a man named Peter Young.

“It seems Young has been funnelling money into Reines’ account for the past several weeks,” Dawson is saying, “money which can be traced back to the Mexican cartel.”

“So the cartel pays Reines to smuggle drugs into the city, but when we get a lead on him, they take him out. Why?” Ruzek asks, eyes pinched as he stares at the case board. “It makes no sense. Usually they cut their losses yeah, but not so brutally.”

“And why deal bogus product in the first place?” Erin adds. “They’re not making money if they’re killing their clientele”

“None of it makes sense,” Voight says, “but we gotta make it make sense.”

“Jin’s running down a trace on Young, if – “ Alvin stops as Voight’s desk phone begins to ring. The man in question eyes it through the open doorway, and then Trudy appears at the top of the stairs, addressing Voight.

“Hank, LA on the line for you. Case related.”

Voight nods and quickly moves to receive the call, door clicking shut behind him.

Alvin watches through the window for a long moment before turning back to the rest of the team. “As I say, Jin’s running a – “

At that moment, Jin appears, waving a sheaf of paper. “So Young’s been making several trips back and forth between Los Angeles and Chicago, as well as hitting a couple of other major cities once or twice, and guess where he just landed this morning?”

“LA.” Alvin guesses, gaze flicking back to Voight’s office, brow furrowed.

“Ten points to Griffindor.” Jin grins.

Alvin rolls his eyes at the joke, moving towards Voight’s door as the other man gestures him inside.

Jay laughs. “See, I always though O was a hufflepuff.”

“Slytherin.” Evan argues with a smirk.

“What does that make you then?”

“Ravenclaw, obviously.”

Their banter is cut short by Alvin and Voight reappearing, both grim.

“That was Los Angeles’ NCIS.” Voight says, pinning up two fresh sheets of paper to their board. “Two bodies found in southern LA districts this morning, both with the same COD as our five. Two more John and Jane Doe’s from the past month have been linked in with similar COD also.”

“So they think it’s the same group?” Erin asks.

“They’re certain, and with Young in LA as of this morning, this is now a cross state case.”

“So we’re going to LA?” Evan asks, dread pooling low in his stomach.

“Some of us are.” Voight says, watching Evan carefully. “Half the team need to stay here to keep this end of the investigation running. Alvin is gonna head that. I’ll be going to LA, and I need two of you with me.”

There’s a moment of silence from them all. Every one of them understands what Voight is subtly asking of Evan, and how little the man is going to want to go back to the place that nearly broke him.

Eventually, Evan nods. “It makes sense. I know the layout, a couple of the cops at one of the precincts and… I’ve worked with NCIS before.”

Jay raises a brow at this. For all he and Evan had shared stories of their pasts (he’s the only one Jay had ever opened up to about the war, because Evan was the only one who’d understand), he’d never heard of this.

“Then I’m in too.” He says softly, looking back to Voight. “Where Evan goes, I go.”

Voight gives a tight smile. “I knew pairing you two together ‘d be both golden and a pain in the ass.”

Evan grins. “We live to please, Sarge.”

He tries not to think about what he’s going back to.

The tall rises of LA seem to surround him, hemming him in on all sides. The vast blue ocean taunts him, reminding him of so many things, good and bad.

Reminding him of the moment his hope was shattered so entirely, his body broken and his mind in disrepair.

He tries to push all those thoughts down and down and down until they’re little more than a speck of nothing, but it doesn’t work – not entirely anyway, and less so the moment they step into the LAPD headquarters.

The majority of senior staff are there, and Evan knows it wouldn’t be impossible for Athena to be there, and yet, he hopes to god he’s wrong. He knows the chances of seeing her (at the very minimum) are high, being that the case has become multi state and multi agency, but he just hopes that he gets a little more time.

He just needs a little more time, that’s all; to breathe, to adjust, to quell the complete urge to just run.

On that day, his prayers are not answered.

Somewhat thankfully, the first people he sees that he recognises are actually the NCIS: LA team. Once Voight has signed them in and they’re brought into the main area, he’s happy to see Callen and Hanna speaking to the LAPD Chief. He’s even more happy to see Deeks and Kensi off to one side, smile broadening into a grin.

“Deeks!”

They’d first met in a similar multi-agency case when he was with Five-0. He and Danny had headed to LA to work with the NCIS team after their suspect had fled Hawaii. It had been one of the few times that Steve had been MIA, meaning Hawaii had been left under the care of Chin and Kono whilst he and Danny worked through several nights to stop the bio-hazard threat they’d been facing. Afterwards, he’d maintained a fair amount of contact with the russet haired Detective, often sharing insights into the others’ cases.

The two greet each other with a tight embrace, Evan congratulating him and Kensi on being engaged, before he’s turning and gesturing over to his boss and partner, introducing the four. “Detective Marty Deeks, Agent Kensi Blye, my boss Sergeant Hank Voight, and my partner, Detective Jay Halstead.”

“How’d you know our boy?” Voight asks.

Deeks grins. “It’s a long story. Maybe after all this is over we can catch some drinks?”

Jay matches him. “I’d be down for that.”

Evan groans, jokingly. “I feel like this whole thing is turning into a meet and greet.”

Voight is the only one who stays reserved, though the smallest of smiles twinges his lips, if only seen by those who know him best. “Let’s focus on the task at hand first.”

“You got is, Sarge.” Evan turns back to where he’d seen Callen and Hanna, to ask about their side of the case, when the LAPD Chief gestures to Voight, who in turn motions to Jay and Evan. Suddenly they’re at the front of the room with the NCIS team, and Evan has just a moment to nod to Callen and Hanna before the LAPD Chief is addressing the room filled with his staff.

“You’re all aware of the recent DOA calls that looked initially to be a series of drug overdoses. These are now being treated as part of a larger case involving the Mexican cartel. Similar victims have been found in Chicago also. As such, this investigation is now multi-agency and cross state, involving ourselves, the NCIS Office of Special Projects here in LA, and the CFD Intelligence team.” The Chief states, surveying the room, and then gestures to both teams in turn. “We will be working with Agents Hanna, Callen, Blye, and Detective Deeks from NCIS, as well as Sergeant Hank Voight, and Detectives Halstead and Severide, from CPD Intelligence. Agent Hanna and Sergeant Voight will be leading the on the ground investigation, while the entire operation will be overseen by myself.”

He pauses for a long moment. “These cases can be tough and frustrating, but I am asking everyone to cooperate with both teams in finding and apprehending anyone involved.”

Having already liaised with Hanna during the plane journey over, Voight is quick to step forward. “We believe the cartel is heavily involved but we also have a suspect by the name of Peter Young who landed in the city this morning. While some of our team are working leads in Chicago, myself, Halstead and Severide will be tracking down Young. Agent Hanna’s team will be looking to the cartel themselves. Both our teams will need LAPD patrol teams at our disposal. You can volunteer, or we’ll simply choose several cars to aid our units.”

“It’s not gonna be easy,” Hanna continues, “but like Chief Reyes said, we will need the full cooperation of LAPD if we’re gonna get these guys.”

Reyes nods. “Both teams will be taking over the command centre upstairs. Head up there if you wish to volunteer, or if you have information or intel at any point. Dismissed.”

The two teams spare several moments discussing their plans of action with Reyes as the area empties of staff, but then a voice calls out that has Evan freezing.

“Buck?”

He turns slowly, coming face to face with Sergeant Athena Grant, only a few paces away. She’s staring at him like she’s seen a ghost and, he supposes, it’s not far off.

The last time she saw him he was nothing more than a shell of who he’d been, even in LA, where most of his past was kept close to his chest. Then he’d ran away, and for all she knew, anything could have happened.

“Sergeant Grant?” Chief Reyes sounds confused by her call, and Evan supposes he’s only been introduced as Severide. Offering the man a small smile, he nods his ascent.

“It’s okay Chief Reyes.”

He makes eye contact with Voight, a subtle ask for a way out if needed, then gives Jay an ‘I’m okay’ nod, before he faces Athena again. Something not quite but akin to a smile (because while Bobby had been the source of everything, Athena had been nothing more than someone caught in the crossfire) turns his lips, and then he’s gesturing down and away from the front, towards a secluded area of the room.

“Hey Athena.” He says softly.

“Buckaroo.” She breathes, pulling him into a hug. “Where have you been?”

For all he’d not said, for all they’d never asked, he decides to be truthful. “Chicago.”

“That’s a long way from home.”

He shrugs. “It is home.”

There’s the slightest flinch on her face, and he feels a little bad, but he’s healed enough from what happened in LA to know that he wasn’t in the wrong, even if his actions were somewhat regrettable.

“We’ve missed you.” She says instead of addressing it though.

He doesn’t know whether it’s a truth or a lie, so he just says, “It’s good to see you,” because it is, for her at least.

“Bobby…”

He shakes his head. “Don’t. I’m here to do a job and… that’s it… I’m not…”

“Okay…” She breathes, soft and unsure and sad all at the same time. “Okay, Buck.”

He sighs, scrubbing a hand over his face. She takes his elbow, a soft squeeze, though what once brought him comfort was now nothing more than an echo of a past he wanted to stay buried.

“So CPD huh?”

He smiles a little at that. “Never would have thought, right?”

“No.” She smiles back. “You always had the brains for it Buckaroo.”

“Just not a lot of discipline.” He responds, remembering Hen’s words from so long ago.

“You’re not the man you were then.”

“No.” He agrees, eyes downcast and clouding over with memory. He doesn’t mean it in the way she does though; he’d been with CPD way before the LAFD, has secrets upon secrets where his past is concerned. Still, the sentiment is right. “I’m not.”

“And you – “ She starts, only to be cut off by the gruff voice of Voight calling him back.

“Severide! Command Centre, now!”

He gives her an apologetic smile instead. “Duty calls, but I… uh… I’ll see you before I go.”

“Okay, Buck.” A sad smile in return. “Stay safe.”

“You too.”

Then he’s gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the love guys! I hope you enjoy this one!
> 
> Also just to note that this won’t be Buck/Jay – they’re just best friends and brothers in this one. It might be Buddie, I’m not sure. The only definite pairing is McDanno.
> 
> I’m not sure if Athena’s district is mentioned in the series, so I’ve just said it’s 13.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the fandoms/universes used!

Athena Grant is not so easily shocked. As a Sergeant and a mother, she’s more than used to seeing strange, downright crazy, things and dealing with them with grace and understanding.

So when she’s told to attend a multi-agency briefing at HQ, her reaction is more akin to ‘another day at the office’ than ‘what is going on?’ Slipping into a seat beside her fellow District 13 officers, she watches two men at the front speaking to Chief Reyes. One is tall, dark and bald, while the other is shorter, pale, with an unnervingly blank expression.

Off to one side she hears someone call “Deeks!” but while the voice strikes a cord, she finds her eyes trailing the two men still, taking in their plain clothes attire.

Whatever is going on, she can tell that it isn’t good, especially when further plain clothes officers step to the front. Chief Reyes starts speaking, and her full attention is on the briefing itself, on the twisted individual at the heart of this now cross state investigation, until he mentions the two agencies involved, and her eyes begin taking in the other people beside him.

Four stand to his right, the two men from earlier along with a younger woman and another man. They’re introduced as NCIS Agents.

Then Chief Reyes gestures to the three people at his right, and Athena’s heart stops beating.

He looks older, despite only six months having passed, and gruffer, speckles of stubble dotting his cheeks and chin, but there’s no doubt that its Evan Buckley stood there. His face is impassive yet tense, an expression she’s rarely seen on him, and it sends a chill through her.

She knows that whatever the 118 did to that boy, they broke him enough to make him leave the city and yet… she wonders where the boy she’d thought of as a son had disappeared to; that cheeky smile and bright twinkle in his eyes.

The man in front of her does not share those resemblances, and her heart aches.

She misses his introduction, but it’s clear from his plain clothes attire that he’s earned the rank of Detective, something that baffles her considering how long he’s been away. He’s damn well smart enough for it, she knows that, even if the 118 had taken it for granted, but surely that’s too short a time to even be some sort of record.

It makes her wonder if there’s more to him than they’d ever known.

It makes her wonder, sadly, if they ever had known him at all.

After all, what had they actually asked about his past?

What had he actually revealed, beyond dropping out of the SEALS and bartending in Mexico?

Who was to say that either of those things were even the truth?

Her mind is spinning, and by the time the briefing ends, she finds herself walking slowly towards him, almost afraid to get too close in case he evaporates into nothing more than smoke and memory.

“Buck?”

She’s nothing less than thankful when he comes over to speak to her, and while its stilted and uncomfortable, it’s more than she ever thought she’d get. She finds out he’s been in Chicago (and made a home there, the treacherous voice in her mind whispers), vaguely recalls Reyes saying they were from CPD Intelligence and is blessed with a small smile when she says she never doubted his skills.

It’s not much, but it’s something, even if she knows there’s still this awful chasm between them.

Even if it leaves more questions than answers.

The older man, Sergeant Voight she recalls, calls over to him, pulling him back away from her, but it’s the name he uses that sends her reeling once more.

Severide?

Buck was… married?

Pain and guilt and regret start eating at her all at once, watching with detachment (like a viewer through a looking glass) as he bounds back over to his colleagues. He speaks to the Sergeant, and she can just make out the words “Grant… LAPD… knew her…” before he’s turning to the younger male, speaking so softly that Athena can’t hear. The other man pulls him into a tight hug, whispering into his ear, and despite the public environment she feels like she’s intruding.

She wonders if this was the man he’d met.

She wonders if this was his family now.

She wonders if they had any hope of regaining what they’d lost.

She wonders, and waits, and then heads upstairs with steely determination.

There was only one way she was going to get answers now, and Athena Grant never took ‘no’ for an answer.

He watches her leave with a sigh, tension melting off him as she disappears out of view. Though he’d been truthful when he’d said that it was good to see her, doing so had only brought back so many long repressed memories.

Doing so had only brought to the surface the reasons why he’d left in the first place.

Somehow his heart ached with both longing and hurt at the same time.

Voight is still looking at him, brows softly creased with concern, while Jay’s arm doesn’t move from around his shoulder, keeping Evan pulled into one side.

“We got you, kid.” Voight says.

Jay nods. “Always.”

Slowly, Evan smiles. “I’m good.”

They head upstairs.

He has to say that he isn’t at all surprised to see Athena already there, talking with one of the desk sergeants. Now that she knows he’s here, now that she’s scarcely less than a few floors away from him, he’s certain she’s going to do everything she can to stick to him like glue.

Part of it warms him, the feeling that she still cares enough to try, and yet the other part of him wants to recoil away; to demand that he be afforded the same space he had in Chicago.

In the space of a few minutes, it’s like he’s being torn in two by the city that already ripped him to shreds.

He does his best to walk past her without a glance, following Voight and Jay into a side room marked ‘CPD’. The room is already set up with computers, a set of whiteboards and markers, and several printed files they sent over before making the journey.

One of the chairs is already occupied by a young woman who introduces herself as “Anabelle Hearsh. Ana will do fine.”

“Seeing as Jin’s in Chicago.” Voight says. “I asked LAPD to borrow one of their analysts.”

“I’m the best in my division.” Ana says, smiling at them. “I’ll do everything I can to help you bring these guys down.”

Voight nods. “The first thing we need is an APB out on Young. Any info connected to him, any potential sightings, we need to know.”

“Got it.” She says, and begins typing rapidly.

“In the meantime,” Voight turns to Jay and Evan, “we need to be hitting the ground hard on any potential drug rings in the city that might be being used by Young. These bodies don’t fit in with the cartel, and I have a feeling Young’s just using them for finance.”

“Where do you want us?” Jay asks.

“I want you two to scour the south side. I’m gonna take the north. Any CI’s you both got here, use them.”

Which is how he then finds himself traveling to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city, two squad cars behind them, Athena Grant in one.

He’d wanted nothing more than to say no when they’d exited their case room to find Athena stood there, hands on her hips, demanding to be one of their Squad Units. But deep down he knew that she’d find a way to be around him regardless, and this way he held all the cards.

This way, he had control.

They pull up a block away from the entrance, sliding quickly from their car and approaching the four uniformed officers with them.

“Whether or not these guys are involved, they are likely to be dangerous.” Jay says, as Evan checks his service weapon. “Whatever you do, do not engage with them. We approach cautiously. We’re not here to bust them, not today anyway. We just need to know if they’re involved with Young.” He checks his own weapon, then nods. “Ready?”

The four officers nod. He meets Evan’s gaze for a brief moment, and then they’re moving. They take up positon on either side of the doorway, the two Detectives moving in sync as always.

Jay knocks, waiting for movement. Sure enough, a small hatch slides open, before the person behind it swears and shouts “cops!”

Evan is quick to intervene before they end up in too sticky a situation. “We just want to talk, that’s all!”

The person scoffs. “Sure, you do.”

Jay rolls his eyes. “We’re not here for you, but we’re hoping you might have some information we’re after.”

There’s a pause, and then, “what kind of information?”

“About a man.”

“And how much you payin’?”

“Depends on how much you know.” Evan says, taking a cautious step away from the wall, just enough so that he can hold a picture of Young in front of the hatch. “Do you know this man?”

There’s another swear, and then the hatch slams shut. Hackles raised, both Evan and Jay exchange glances before moving in a form they’ve used so many times.

Jay covers his partner, sparing just a moment to tell the uniforms to take cover themselves, while Evan crashes open the door with one swift kick.

The immediate hail of bullets they’re met with tells them all they need to know, as are the piles of heroin that litter the warehouse innards.

Evan ducks inside, taking quick cover behind a container and sending back his own barrage of fire to cover Jay’s entrance.

They make quick work of several of the crew, while others take the low road and decide to run. Without enough man power to make chase, Evan simply moves out from the other side of the container, sending one bullet straight into a single man’s leg.

He crashes to the floor with a groan.

The only man left in the warehouse alive, he is rewarded with a free trip to the LAPD HQ, and both Evan and Jay are nothing if not generous with their customer service. Roughly dragging his arms behind him, they’ve been with Voight long enough to forgo Miranda rights. Instead, Evan lands a swift punch to the man’s jaw.

“Buck!” Athena yells, shocked by the tactic and specifically from it coming from someone who had always been jokingly referred to as the golden retriever of the 118.

“Where’s Young?!” Evan growls, and his voice is so eerily similar to Voight’s that even Jay has to supress a little shudder. Still, he lets his partner work.

“I SAID WHERE’S YOUNG?!”

The man spits up at Evan.

It’s the wrong move.

The next punch is to the side of his head, sending the man’s brain spinning and his eyes seeing stars.

“I…” The man groans, spitting out blood. “I ain’t tellin’ you nuthin.”

Evan swears, yanking him up and shoving him into Jay’s waiting grip. “Let’s get him to Voight.”

Athena can only watch as the boy she knew seemingly slips further and further away, the dark shadow on his face nothing less than menacing.

Clearly Evan as a cop was a far cry from Evan as a firefighter, and the Detective was not someone to be trifled with.

If only that fact didn’t just break her heart in two.

They send two bricks of the heroin to the crime lab to be looked at in case the compounds found in the victims were also present in the bricks. It would be further evidence that this specific drug syndicate both know and are working with Young.

It would be one step closer to catching him.

For now they’re given an interrogation room to tie the man up in, and no-one bats an eyelid when Voight says he’s going in their alone.

No-one questions the cries that echo from the crack in the door.

No-one except Athena that is.

Her brow is furrowed, eyes sad, mouth pursed into a straight line as she approaches Evan. He knows that face, but for the first time in his life he doesn’t feel affected by it. He knows they’re doing the right thing, even if Voight’s methods are somewhat unorthodox.

“That man is still a human being.” She says.

“He’s a criminal.” Evan counters. “With likely links to someone who has done far worse to many more.” He doesn’t need to tell her about the victims; the pictures of what the drug had done to their insides. He’s sure she already knows.

Athena shakes her head. “What happened to you, Buckaroo?”

“I grew up.” He says simply. “And it’s Detective Severide. Buckley’s my past and one I’d rather forget.”

She flinches visibly, and for a moment he feels bad, but then… who was she to lecture him, after the emotional whiplash he’d received at the hands of her husband and his team? Who was she to say who he should and shouldn’t be?

“You’ll always be Buck to me.”

Evan turns away from her as he sees Jay approaching. “Then you’re waiting for someone who is dead and gone.”

He brushes past her to his partner. “Nothing yet. Voight’s still working on him.”

Jay looks grim. “We just got word of two more vics found on the west coast beaches. Holidaymakers, it seems, or at least posing as.”

“From where?”

“Hawaii.”

Evan pushes out a heavy breath, raking his hands through his hair. His badge seems to weigh heavy on his hip. “Voight’s not gonna like this.”

“I know.” Jay takes a moment to let his gaze roam over his partner, taking in pale complexion and sullen eyes. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Fine.” Evan says curtly, aware of Athena’s eyes still on him.

“You talk to Kelly? Your phone was going off in the car like crazy.”

He’d spent most of the trip over berating himself for how they’d handled the bust – over how many people had gotten away. He shrugs. “He worries. I’d rather tell him nothing than lie.”

“Asking Kelly Severide not to worry about you is like asking a bear not to maul.” Jay says with a soft grin. “It can be done but it’s not likely.”

“Like he doesn’t run into burning buildings every day.” Evan replies.

“And you didn’t?”

Evan’s gaze darkens for a brief moment, flicking back to Athena. “I had family to back me up. At least… I thought I did.”

Jay glances over his shoulder at Athena, and then rests a hand on Evan’s arm, bringing him back. “So does he, and you still do.” He squeezes softly, thankful when a small smile catches Evan’s lips.

“Thanks Jay.”

“Anytime, bro.”

The moment is broken all too quickly by the appearance of Voight, knuckles bruised and blood staining his collar. “Young met with them this morning and then was off. According to this guy, he wasn’t staying in LA.”

Evan meets Jay’s look, a silent conversation passing between them, and then looks to his Sergeant. “I know where he went.”

The palace was quiet for a Monday.

No new cases had popped up, leaving the Hawaii Five-0 team time to catch up on paperwork and just generally take a little breather. The past few weeks had been one thing after another, and no more so than for Detective Danny Williams, who also had a custody battle and wedding planning to contend with.

For that moment though, nothing required his attention, and that allowed him to sink further into the comfy black chair at his desk and have a minute for himself.

That is, until his phone starts ringing.

“Williams.”

“Danno?” The voice on the other end is one he recognises immediately, and the fact that they’ve called immediately has him on edge.

“Cub?”

There’s a short laugh at the nickname, enough to settle his stomach and ease the sudden pressure that had constricted his chest. Then;

“I need Five-0.”


End file.
